Mount Hood visitors savor late snowfall, last day of school vacation

Snow lovers of all shapes and sizes trekked to Mount Hood and surrounding environs over the weekend with everything they needed to enjoy the results of a soggy March and squeeze just a little more playtime out of spring break. Even hot dogs.

More than 60 inches of snow made the White River West Sno-Park on Oregon 35, about seven miles east of Government Camp, a popular spot Sunday for families and groups of skiers, snowboarders and snowshoers.

Dawn Johnson, a 38-year-old from Fairview, cooked hot dogs with a small portable grill in the parking lot for her 10-year-old son, Cody, and a group of friends and neighbors after a morning of sledding and snowboarding in the hilly park. The crew of about 10 stayed dry in canvas folding chairs under a canopy during the gathering, a tradition Johnson said happens several times a year and sometimes includes more than 30 people.

Normally, she said, the snowfall tapers by this point in the season, but recent weather made for a perfect April trip on the last day of the kids' vacation from school.

"I was like, 'It's now or never, guys,'" Johnson said. Laughing, she pointed mid-boot, where snow had risen to as she walked through the park — "Literally, you will sink."

Joslyn Neilan, a 9-year-old from Portland, said she was so surprised to hear her family was heading to the mountains Sunday that she thought her parents were pulling an April Fools' prank.

The sledding day — an end to a spring break filled with family road trips and building "cool terrariums" — was part of another gathering similar to Johnson's.

Joslyn, her mother, Sandy Chambers, and a group of others from Portland and Gresham set up a canopy sealed with plastic to keep the wind and rain out as they snacked after a morning of sledding and snow-cave building.

Chambers said in mid-January the group had struggled to find a spot in the park where snow was deep enough to avoid the gravel underneath — and a few people wore T-shirts or shorts.

Randy L. Rasmussen/The OregonianThe White River West Sno-Park was a popular spot on Sunday, with easy access to trails and freshly fallen snow. Shawn Stern (right of center, with tube), heads down to the parking lot after sledding with (from right of Stern) mother-in-law Maureen Huntley and daughters Jessamin Huntley-Stern, 11, and Zoey Huntley-Stern, 7.

"This is definitely more than normal," Chambers said. "For April first? This is the most snow we've seen."

Terry and Jeanne Trent, 59 and 62, of Culver, were glad Sunday required more than shorts. The couple passed through the Mount Hood area on their way home from visiting family in Portland and brought cross-country skis to the snow park for a change of scenery from their usual slopes near Mount Bachelor or the Three Sisters.

"You'd think it was still December," Terry Trent said as he dusted off his skis.

The Trents, who ski several times a year, said the thick snow made it tough to find trails at the park Sunday.

"We were just kind of going blindly," Jeanne Trent said.

Scouting out the same trails for a snowshoeing session, Dimitra Giannakoulias said she was thrilled about the fresh powder. The 35-year-old from Sellwood rented a cabin in Brightwood for a weekend of snowshoeing to hold on to winter for a little longer.

"I was hoping for this weather," Giannakoulias said of the steady snow that fell as she unloaded gear from her trunk. "I wasn't quite ready for spring."